Tales of Konoha
by Erizibang
Summary: A bunch of tales of our Konoha favourite genins and chuunin while Naruto's out the village training with Jiraiya. One tale of each character. Last UP: The tale of Ten Ten.
1. Tale of Lee

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto!

And welcome readers, this is my first Naruto fic so I hope you'd like it. This will be a group of short stories featuring our favourite genins (and 1 chunnin) of Konohagakure while Naruto is out training with Jiraiya. Each chapter will follow the adventures of one genin in particular but you might find interesting how they are interlaced with the others. Now let's begin!

* * *

**Tales of Konoha**

**Chapter 1: The tale of Rock Lee**

It was another normal day in Konoha, the rustling of leaves that were heard all over the village welcomed the new season and the comming of the next chunin exams. As we look inside the village, a green figure could be seen punching and kicking a tree. This was Rock Lee, hopefully the best taijutsu nin user his age, who was as always training hard outside his rebuilt dojo. After all, his youth was not to be wasted.

332...333...334...335... he was counting.

"Aren't you supposed to be training with Gai sensei today, Lee?" asked his Hyuuga teammate who was leaning on one of the dojo walls.

"Gai sensei left on a mission. That's why I'm training on my own today. If I'm to catch up Naruto-kun I must train twice as hard!"

"Mission? Why weren't we called too?" asked Neji a bit surprised, of couse he didn't show it.

"Gai sensei said it wasn't a difficult one so he only took Ten Ten with him"

"I see" replied Neji letting go a sigh that didn't go unnoticed by Lee.

"Say, Neji-kun. What about a battle?" added him standing in his fighting position.

"I guess a little warm up could do it" answered Neji with a smirk. "Byakugan!"

"I'm sure I'll be more than a warm up" replied Lee, his eyes burning with excitement. "We haven't fought each other since before our first chunin exams. You'd be impressed at how much I've improved"

"Yeah I know that. But I've improved even more" stated Neji still smirking.

"How can you tell? Ever since you got accepted by Hiashi-san you are always training with him... what makes me wonder... why aren't you with him today?" asked a curious Lee.

"He said he would be busy today so I didn't want to intrude" explained Neji as Lee's jaw dropped in dissapointment.

"So you're just fighting me because you've nothing better to do? How cruel!" cried a puppy eyed Lee.

"Don't be such a child Lee... you were the one who requested it. Now let's begin" added him and rushed on Lee for a _Juuken_.

"Even if it was me... you were the one who came all the way here to my dojo!" cried Lee with watery eyes refusing to attack him and continued dodging all Neji's moves with a huge speed.

"Lee, you're not..." complaint Neji but was cut off by a female voice.

"Lee-san!" came Sakura's voice.

Lee immediately disappeared and run towards Sakura.

"Sakura-san! What brings you here?" cried Lee in excitement forgetting his little argument with Neji, and fight, much for Neji's dissapointment.

"Tsunade-shishou is requesting you, seems she has a mission for you" informed Sakura.

"Yosh! I'll do my best!" yelled Lee forgetting all about Neji.

'Can he really change his mood that fast?' wondered Neji seeing a cheerful Lee in front of him. How he always managed to pass from depressed to hyper was a mistery for him, not that he was depressed for real but he seemed dissapointed anyways.

"... so see ya, Neji-kun!" Neji heard Lee yell, now miles ahead leaving with Sakura.

* * *

"So, how's been your training, Sakura-san?" asked Lee to start a conversation. 

"Oh quite good I have to say... even if Tsunade-shishou can be really strict and hard, I know it's the best for me to improve my abilities"

"I know you can handle all that training and more! You're such a strong shinobi and I'm sure you're good at hard working too" added Lee enthusiastically.

Sakura blinked at the sudden encouraging from Lee and blushed a little. "T-thank you Lee-san... No one has ever told me something like that before" said Sakura a bit embarrased. "Ever since Naruto left the village I've been so busy training that I hadn't been able to hang out with friends and was really stressing. It's good to know I have someone like you to encourage me from time to time" added with a smile.

'Yosh! Sakura-san enjoys my company!' cried inner Lee. (A/N: just thought... not like he has one)

"Ehm.. Lee?" Sakura waved a hand in front of his face, a face filled with joy and firey eyes that didn't pay attention to what she last said.

"Sorry... were you saying...?" asked a confused, yet embarrased, Lee.

"I said I have to go in that other direction to the Hospital so we'll be parting ways from this point" said Sakura pointing the right side.

"Ok then, I'll be leaving you now" added Lee.

"Yeah. Bye, Lee-san" added her waving at him. "And don't forget I'll be cheering on you at the coming Chunin Exams!"

"Arigato! Sakura-san! You too do your best!" waved Lee seeing Sakura turn a corner and then started his way to the Hokage's office.

* * *

"Maybe now that Naruto-kun's not here I'll be able to ask Sakura-san out" said Lee to himself while walking. "Yosh! If I'm not able to ask her out I'll run 100 laps around Konoha!" cried out loud in commitment... maybe too loud so every person around turned to look at him, of course he didn't care and continued his way until he heard someone calling him. 

"Hey kid" called a seductive voice that Lee didn't recognize it as that.

"Huh? you calling me?" asked an innocent Lee to a young woman that was leaning at the door of one of the houses nearby.

"Yeah. You" answered her firmly.

Unaware of the danger of talking to strangers, Lee rushed to the girl who requested him, after all it was a shinobi's duty to help when needed.

"Ano... May I help you?" asked a nervous Lee when the girl started walking in circles around him like examining him.

"I've just been wondering... what a strong shinobi like you were doing around here... it's not usual for them to come to this side of the Village..." added her scaning Lee, now trying to reach his head band (A/N: we know where he uses it xD)

"Ugh, miss... you shouldn't touch there" Lee said trying to do it politely.

"Hum... I'm just impressed... you look just to what I need" she said now looking at his chest.

"Ano... have you requested me?" asked Lee confused about whether she needed a shinobi.

"Of course! Now come in kid!" she said and dragged him to her place not paying attention to Lee's excuses about him having to go to the Hokage's office.

"Oh I'll talk to her. She'll be glad you came to my place" replied the girl. "By the way, my name's Machi, yours?"

"Lee, Rock Lee, mum"

"Oh don't call me mum. It makes me feel old" whined her and then added as they entered to a dark room. "Here we are!"

"Ano... I can't see a thing" said Lee.

"Oh sorry! My bad" answered her and turned on the lights revealing a photography studio.

"What is this place?"

"This is where I work. I'm a designer but lately I've been lacking good models to whom I try my designs so I was thinking about maybe requesting some shinobi to try on my creations. You look just perfect!" explained her and Lee then understood what was all this about. If only he'd be able to go to the Hokage's office for her to explain it to him.

"Yosh! I'll do my best!" cried him and started to change his clothes.

After several shoots he found that each design had less pieces of clothes and soon he started to feel a little uneasy but then he heard her.

"Oh that went really well!" exclaimed her as she looked again at her photos... "I'll be sending them to you soon, Lee-kun"

"Arigato, Machi-san. Are we finished?"

"Yeah you can go now to see your Hokage" answered her and pointed the door showing him he could leave.

"Yosh! I'll go and report to Hokage-sama" informed him and run through the door.

"Report?"

* * *

"LEE!! Where the hell have you been?!" yelled Tsunade when Lee finally appeared at her office. 

"Tsunade-sama I'm coming to report how the mission went!" answered Lee.

"Report?! I didn't even tell you what the mission was about!"

"Oh, that's right. But the person who requested it found me on my way to your office so I helped her right there. I'm coming to say I finished it efficiently" informed Lee as Tsunade's face dropped.

"Lee" she said quietly. "The person who requested the mission's right there" added pointing at an old man sitting in the corner.

"Oh" was all he could say in surprise, his cheeks turning a little pink.

"Now, who did you think it was the person who requested you?"

"It was a young lady at the west side of the village, she said she needed a shinobi like me and..."

"We'll talk about that later" interrupted Tsunade. "Now your mission is..."

**A few days later...**

"Oi Lee!" came Ten Ten's voice. "Why is that you're in this week _Shinobi_?" asked her showing him a magazine titled _Shinobi._

"Ah? That's..." started Lee but was soon interrupted

"LEE!!" came Tsunade's voice from the Hokage's tower.

* * *

**A/N:** Heh, that was funny... poor Lee. Next: The Tale of Sakura 


	2. Tale of Sakura

**Chapter 2: The tale of Sakura**

"Itekimasu!" said Sakura as she left her parents house. Today was going to be another long day of training at the Hokage's tower. Not that she complaint about it... but the thought of her other friends with their senseis going on missions made her feel nostalgic. With Sasuke at Orochimaru's hideout and Naruto out of the village training with Jiraiya, the only left for her to do was do her best with Tsunade's training to be a medic nin.

"Sakura!" called Tsunade once she was in her office.

"Yes, Tsunade-shishou" answered her.

"Today you'd be going to do some research at the Hospital. I want you to take bring me some files from there and also you could learn something from the medic nin there" informed Tsunade.

"Yes, sir" answered Sakura, excited as it was going to be her first research alone at the hospital.

"Ah... can you also call Rock Lee? I have a mission for him" added Tsunade when Sakura was going to open the door.

"Hai!" answered Sakura and left the office.

* * *

"I have to go in that other direction to the Hospital so we'll be parting ways from this point" said Sakura to Lee after informing him about the mission. 

"Ok then, I'll be leaving you now" added Lee.

"Yeah. Bye, Lee-san" added her waving at him. "And don't forget I'll be cheering on you at the coming Chunin Exams!"

"Arigato! Sakura-san! You too do your best!" she heard Lee cry the moment she turned a corner and dissapeared from Lee's sight.

"Yosh! I'll do my best!" cried Sakura to herself. 'I'm gonna be more prepared for my chunin exams than them, cha!' added inner Sakura.

* * *

"Excuse me, can you bring me information about some patients..." said Sakura at the reception but the nurse was somewhat busy and hardly heard Sakura. 

"I said I need information about the patients in the room 291, 292 and..." tried to say Sakura but the phone rang and the nurse rushed to take the call.

Sakura sighed in defeat 'Cha! Why are you ignoring me!' cried inner Sakura but came to reality when she noticed a little girl pulling her dress.

"Huh? Oh hi" greeted Sakura kneeling to be her height. "Are you here visiting someone?" added her, the girl only shook her head.

"Oh I see... maybe you're a patient here? Why are you here alone?" asked her but the girl just nodded.

"Excuse me, this girl over here, says she's a patient but no one's taking care of her" Sakura tried to tell the Nurse but she was still talking by phone.

"Well, mind me if I take you to your room?" added Sakura to the girl as the nurse showed no signs of hearing what she said seconds ago.

The girl nodded and started walking with Sakura into the hospital but then stoped when she saw the playing area of the Hospital (the ones for little kids). She then pulled Sakura's dress again, pointing them to her.

"You wanna play?" asked Sakura. "I'm not sure... I don't know if it'd be ok as I don't know the reason why are you here... maybe you might be resting than playing" explained Sakura worried about the girl's health, but then, she looked somehow healthy and not sick at all.

The girl looked her with a sad expression and about to cry so Sakura had no choice but to take her outside. "Ok, ok. Just a little moment, I also have some work to do" explained her and the girl's face lightened up.

The girl then run to the swings that were at the right side of the playing area and looked at Sakura indicating that she could start swinging her.

"Right... you could start telling me your name" Sakura said but was no response. The girl seemed to be enjoying herself and hardly paid attention to her.

Sakura sighed and then the girl jumped ou of the swing and went to the sand box to make some castles. Sakura followed her. "You sure don't like to talk much" commented her looking at the girl but she didn't seem to care.

* * *

The next thing, Sakura was running into the Hospital corridors asking every person she run into about the little girl. It was hard for her to believe that the moment she turned to look at the clock in the wall, the girl had dissapeared mysteriously. 

She was wondering what'd Tsunade said to her after losing a patient. 'What if she was feeling sick?' thought a worried Sakura and then asked a last person before entering the reception were the Nurse had finally stopped talking by phone.

"Ano... excuse me" Sakura tried again to gain the Nurse's attention but this time she was lucky.

"Oh yes... you were here before. You wanted some information right?" answered the Nurse.

"Yeah but... now I was wondering if you saw a little girl pass by here" asked Sakura.

"A little girl?" asked the Nurse in awe. "Oh... was she visiting someone here with you?"

"Oh no... she said she was a patient in here"

"Oh my... I'm sorry but... at this moment we're not having little kids here... the last girl we had passed away last week. She was really young, though. It was sad" informed the Nurse.

Sakura was in shock, so who was that girl? She then described her to the Nurse who recognised her as the description fit with the dead girl.

"She was really sick. I remember she always asked one of the nurses to take her outside to play but in her condition that was impossible" said the Nurse to a pale Sakura. So... all that time she was talking to a ghost? The idea was pretty scaring itself. But at least she had fulfilled that little girl's last wish.

"So, can you repeat the room's number of the patients you want the information from?"

* * *

**A/N:** that was scary, nee Sakura?... Next one: The tale of Neji. Expect the unexpected ;) 


	3. Tale of Neji

**Chapter 3: The tale of Neji**

Neji walked through the deserted streets of Konoha that lead to the Hyuuga compound. Earlier that day, his teammate Lee, the only one left that'd be useful to his training, had left him to go on a mission and the only thing he was left to do was train by himself at his house. He was on his way when he felt that pressence... again...

_Flashback_

_That morning in his way to Lee's dojo._

_'How annoying' Neji thought when he noticed a small presence following him. "Biakugan!" said him in order to know who it was but was distracted by a voice behind him. Not from the person he wanted to find._

_"Neji-kun Ohayo!" called Ino._

_"Huh? You were one of the rookies from the chunin exams right?" replied Neji in his monotone voice, a bit upset that it turned to be her who was apparently following him._

_"How rude, why is that you don't remember my name?" answered Ino._

_"I remember you because I do pay attention to minor details" said Neji not even bothering to look at her and starting to continue his way._

_"ha?" Ino's face dropped. 'What's that supposed to mean?!' added inner Ino._

_"I must keep going. I have to meet someone" Neji finally said and dissapeared from Ino's sight._

_"Geez he's so cold. I was only trying to ask him something" complaint her but suddenly a paper in the floor called her attention. "Huh? What's that on the floor?"_

_End of flashback_

"I know you're there" said Neji now facing a small bulk in the wall. 'And I didn't have to use the biakugan' thought him as well.

"Huh? I didn't expect you to discover me. At least not the guy who lost to boss" cried a voice from inside the bulk reavealing himself.

"Boss? you must be talking about Naruto" reasoned Neji, Naruto was the only one who've beaten him before.

"That's right!" cried the boy now facing him. "Being as great as he is, I'm not surprised you'd be that good"

'Actually I didn't do anything special, even a normal person could have discovered him behind that stupid disguise' thought Neji with a bored expression.

"Now enough of talking... I must assume you received my letter, right?"

'Letter?' wondered Neji.

"Now Let's fight!" cried the boy and rushed towards Neji to attack him but before he could do anything...

"_Juuken_!" said Neji and his opponent was sent back to the ground.

"Hey what trick did you do?!" demanded him.

"I'm not in the mood to be playing around with kids like you. Go home"

"I'm not kid. My name's Konohamaru! And I'm gonna become the seventh Hokage!" cried the boy now standing up again.

'Become Hokage? This kid resembles too much to Naruto, kinda scary though' Neji thought. "As I said, I'm not gonna waste my time with you" added and continued walking, leaving an upset Konohamaru with difficulties to keep himself standing up.

* * *

Finally, Neji reached the Hyuuga main entrance but somehow he didn't seem calm. 

"I know you're there... why are you still following me?" asked him at last before entering the compound.

"I already told you! I want to fight you!" Konohamaru cried appearing from behind a bush. "It'd be a good training and... besides I'd want to tell Naruto-niichan I've also defeated you" added him proudly.

"Eh..." Neji was about to reply him but this voice came from the other side of the road.

"Hinata-sama" said Neji.

"H-hi, Neji-niisan" greeted Hinata who was returning home as well.

"What are you..." both of them tried to ask but then Neji spoke first. "I thought you'd be training with your team"

"Well yeah... you see... Akamaru got a problem and the training was suspended... I was wondering if..." Hinata explained but was cut off by Konohamaru.

"Huh? Who's that weird girl?" asked him a bit upset he was left behind.

"Ano..." Hinata's face turned to see him.

"He's followed me all the way here... he says he want to fight me but I really don't want to waste my time with that kid" explained Neji who now wished he could being training Hinata than fighting the kid.

"I'm not kid. My name's Konohamaru!"

"I-I've seen him around Naruto-kun sometimes" added Hinata in Konohamaru's defence.

"Yeah! Naruto-niichan used to train me" informed Konohamaru, now liking Hinata.

"Hinata-sama..." Neji gave Hinata a worried look as she and Konohamaru started talking friendly and then was invited inside.

* * *

"Get ready Neji-chan!" called Konohamaru who, with some help from Hinata, managed to get a fight with Neji. 

"Oi! Who gave you permission to call me like that!" scolded Neji. "Ok, this'd be fast" added him placing himself in his Hyuuga fighting stance. "_Hakke Rokuyuuyonshou_" Neji started but Konohamaru made his move 'faster'.

"_Oiroke no jutsu_!" yelled him and a naked Hinata appeared in front of Neji making him stop from doing his sixty four strikes. (A/N: you know where Neji strickes right?)

"Waaah!!" could be hear from the place Hinata was sitting followed by a thud from her passing out.

"Hinata-sama!" called a flushed Neji but received a punch from Konohamaru still in Hinata's form.

"This is useless" said him making an angry withdrawal "I'm out of here..." and disappeared leaving Konohamaru alone with a passed out Hinata.

**Later that day**

"Neji" Hiashi called him when he was passing by one of the corridors. "Being a month for the chuunin exams... I must say your skills have gotten poorer" and with that, he left a flabbergasted Neji wondering why was that.

* * *

**A/N:** kyaaa my fav tale (I love Neji soo much xD)... you didn't expect Konohamaru here right? All of the questions that Neji asked himself at the end will be answered in the next one... the tale of Hinata. And yeah, this was short because I couldn't think in two separate tales for both Hyuuga :P 


	4. Tale of Hinata

**Chapter 4: The tale of Hinata**

"Kiba-kun, Shino-kun, sorry I'm late" cried Hinata when she joined her team that morning. They were all gathered at their usual training place but this morning something was different.

Kurenai sensei had left them to go on a mission and they were supposed to train by themselves but soon Hinata found that that'd be quite difficult. She watched as she got near her teammates that the mascot of the team was acting a little impatient. Running and jumping from tree to tree, not even his partner could slow him down.

"Ano... what's wrong with Akamaru?" asked a worried Hinata to Shino that happened to be watching as well how Kiba was chasing his dog to make him stay quiet.

As soon as Akamaru noticed her, he jumped to her head and then started running to the Village followed by Kiba. "Sorry Hinata! I don't know what's wrong with him... I'll promise I'll be back soon" yelled Kiba leaving.

"Kiba... kun..."

"It all started this morning in our way here" began Shino. "Apparently, he was impressed by something he saw and now it's going after it"

"Impressed by something?" wondered Hinata.

"Yeah... I've seen that behavior before. Not from him of course but I think I can understand what's wrong with him"

"Ano... Don't you think Kiba-kun must know about that too?" asked a worried Hinata.

"Yeah, you're right. Maybe I'd go with him just in case" added Shino and started walking the same way Kiba took. "Will you be ok on your own, Hinata?"

"Yeah... I could always come back when this is fixed"

"Ok. Then, bye" added Shino and left.

* * *

_"It's only a month left to the chunin exams, Hinata. At least you should try to watch Neji train so you can learn from him"_

Her father's words sounded in Hinata's head as she walked home. 'I wonder... if Neji-niisan'd like to train with me... he's been very busy with his training lately' wondered her as she finally reached the entrance but then... the sight of his cousin pulled her out of her thoughts.

'There's him at the entrance' mumbled to herself. 'And with that kid... I wonder if I'd intrude...'

"Eh..." She couldn't help but make a weird noise.

"Hinata-sama" said Neji.

"H-hi, Neji-niisan" Hinata had no other choice but greet them.

* * *

Now with that kid wanting to fight his cousin, she'd have less chances of him training her but she kinda liked Konohamaru as he reminded her of Naruto somehow and, who knows, maybe he'd help her if Neji refuses to train her. 

She positioned herself not too close from them and heard Neji doing his _Hakke Rokuyuuyonshou_... wait! he didn't... then all went black and the next thing she saw was Konohamaru sitting next to her.

"Hey you woke up" he said.

"Wha-What happened?" she said all flushed remembering the reason why she passed out. "What about the battle?"

"Neji dumped me after you passed out. I thought you had some kind of influence on him that's why I chose you for my jutsu, sorry" explained Konohamaru rubbing the back of his head. "I just didn't realize how much" added him frowning his eyebrows. "Anyway, I managed to hit him so you can say I beat him" said him with a grin.

'Me? Have an influence on him?' thought Hinata flabbergasted.

"I tried this jutsu on my sensei several times, it never fails!" cried him cheerfully as Hinata looked at him intently. "But since all the times I've tried it were with old people I thought I should try with younger ones... seems to work so far"

"Oh... but I don't think Neji-niisan is the type you could fool with that kind of technique" said Hinata in Neji's deffense. "He just... wasn't able to... _attack_..._ me_" added her, unsure of what she meant by that, of course Neji was able to attack her, he'd almost killed her during the second rounds of their first chuunin exams.

"Yeah I thought that too when he stopped his attack" reasoned Konohamaru. "Maybe with younger ones, the technique works if you transform in someone the opponent really cares about or respects" pointed him in deep thought. Hinata was amazed at how he considered his technique as a powerful one.

"S-Seems you've been researching a lot" added her timidly.

"Oh yeah! Naruto-niichan only taught me the basics, I'm improving the technique myself"

"Na-Naruto-kun t-taught you that technique?!" asked a shocked Hinata.

"Yeah! But by this time I've developed the jutsu so I might say that my version is way superior" added him proudly. "I can't wait for him to come back and show him my version! Wanna see Hinata-neechan?"

"Wait... no... what if... someone comes?" managed her to say before Konohamaru completed the seals.

"Oh yeah... you're right" replied him. "Anyway, I wouldn't have any effect on you since you're not a pervert boy" reasoned him rubbing his head. "I need to work in a version of the jutsu that works in girls" added him in deep thought. Hinata just watched him again.

After a few seconds Konohamaru turned to Hinata with a naughty smirk. He then started making his seals but this time Hinata was prepared and covered her eyes the moment she heard "_Henge no jutsu_!"

"It's ok Hinata-sama. I'm all dressed" said a familiar voice.

"Ne-Neji-niisan" mumbled her as she took her hands out of her face.

"How do I look to you?" asked Konohamaru (in Neji's form) grinning widely making Neji look weird.

"I-It's ok, I guess" answered her timidly. "For a moment I thought you were going to do what you... did to Neji-niisan a moment ago... you know... all n-naked"

"Hehe I didn't want you to pass out again" giggled him making Neji look weirder if that was possible. "Besides I have no idea how he'd look naked" added him making Hinata blush.

"Y-You don't have to show me either... I-I'm fine not knowing it" said her all flushed. "Be-Besides, I don't think it'd be the appearance that makes your jutsu more realistic" added her playing with her fingers. "Even if that grin looks good on you... you have to notice the personality of the person you transform into... for example... it's not common to see Neji-niisan smiling... I've only saw him once... and I think I'm the only one who'd see that" explained her not stopping from pushing her fingers as Konohamaru stared at her intently.

"I see... so I have to act more serious right?" said him in Neji's stoic voice.

"Yeah that was good" said her cheerfully.

"I don't know why girls like this kind of serious guys. They don't look that interesting" said Konohamaru taking his role seriously.

"W-Well I... I'm not one of those girls... the boy I like coudn't be more..." Hinata started to explain but was interrupted by her father.

"Hinata. Neji. Good to see you two together. Have you been training?" said Hiashi who hadn't activated his Biakugan.

"Ha-Hai, father" said Hinata nervously. She didn't know if it was a good thing that his father hadn't recognise that the person in front of him was not Neji.

"Good. Now that you've train properly, I must take Neji for a bit of training. Make sure you watch us" added him as he took off his robe and walked into the training area.

Konohamaru remained cool even if he was inwardly shaking. It was good that he remembered what Hinata said before but that wasn't Hinata's case.

"Ano... father" she said. "I-I was wondering if... i-if I could train with you... today?" added her unsure of what it'd turn out.

"Hinata. There's only one month left for the chuunin exams and I won't be waisting my time training you if you're gonna fail them. I'd rather train Neji who is more prepared to pass the exams"

"Oh... I see" added her in response. Now Konohamaru was in trouble... she could see her father standing in his fighting stance as Konohamaru managed to copy him. The problem started when he was down at the first strike.

"Neji. What's wrong with you today?" asked Hiashi in a serious tone.

Remembering to keep his coolness Konohamaru said. "I'm sorry. I guess I've used too much chakra and can't train more"

Hiashi seemed annoyed but added "I could see that from the beginning. I just thought you'd be more prepared" and then turned to Hinata. "But it's strange that Hinata's chakra is in perfect conditions though"

"Well... that's because..." Hinata started thinking in a good explanation but that wasn't necessary.

"Ok, Hinata. I'm sorry I thought your cousin would be more prepared" Hiashi sighed and then continued. "We can train now as you seem to be in conditions" Of course neither Hinata nor Konohamaru noticed the insult to Neji behind his words.

* * *

"Uh... that was... uh... close" Hinata said to Konohamaru, who returned to his real form when they reached the entrance. Both of them were panting after having to run to that place when Hinata's training finished. 

"Yeah... That father of yours was... scaring"

"I-I'm sorry you had to stay... and watch my training" said her.

"Don't worry... I didn't want to left you alone either... Hinata-neechan... It was good, though... that that ojiisan came and took your father"

"I guess... now I have to go to Yamanaka's to pick some arrangements" said her looking at one little piece of paper his father gave her.

"I'd be careful not to transform in Neji the next time" added Konohamaru. "Maybe into someone less serious like..." he started thinking.

"I don't think there are much people as Neji-niisan" Hinata said.

"Like Naruto-niichan! I wonder how good Naruto-niichan I'd do" cried Konohamaru excited. "Maybe if I combine Neji's and Naruto-niichan's personalities I can make him more attractive" added him with the same seriousness as before when he was talking about his jutsu's research.

"Oh no... please no... Konohamaru-kun..." Hinata tried to stop him but he didn't pay much attention to her and started making his seals.

The next thing Hinata saw was a shirtless Naruto two inches away from her, saying something at her ear she couldn't understand before she passed out... again.

**A few hours later**

Hinata woke up in her room and found Konohamaru sitting at her window.

"Ko-Konohamaru-kun... h-how did I g-get there?"

"After you passed out I transformed into Neji again and carried you here. I asked a maid where was your room" explained him with a grin.

"W-What about the flowers my father asked me to pick?"

"Oh, I also did that for you" added him but then changed his expression. "But I had some problems with the girl there... she was scary... reminds me of Sakura-neechan" Konohamaru shook his head. "Anyway, I must be leaving now. Ebisu sensei must be worried about me. So, ja ne!" he said and jumped out of the window.

When she got out of her room... she couldn't help feeling guilty for what his father was saying to his cousin.

* * *

**A/N**: wow this is my longest tale yet. I hope this will explain the lenght of Neji's one... (sigh) and he IS my fav character... how could I make the smallest one for him! now I feel terrible... Anyway, I like Hinata too so... forget about what I say... cheers for Konohamaru!! (I'm loving him more now :P) 

Oh Oh! forgot to tell you... next: the tale of Kiba and Akamaru xD


	5. Tale of Kiba

**A/N:** wow sorry for the late update, I just noticed I only have 2 weeks of vacations no! I must hurry... so here's the next one

**Chapter 5: The Tale of Kiba and Akamaru... (and Shino??)**

"Kurenai sensei's left on a mission" informed Shino that morning on their way to the training grounds.

"Has she? I remembered Hinata saying something like that yesterday" said Kiba who was walking by his side with Akamaru on his head. "But we didn't pay her much attention. Anyway, seems there's going to be only us so let's practice some new moves for the chuunin exams" added him waiting for his dog's reply but he didn't seem to hear him as he was smelling something in the air.

"Huh? What is it, buddy?" asked Kiba a bit confused. Suddenly his dog jumped from his head and started running towards an alley. "Hey, what's up?" cried Kiba running after him.

By the time he and Shino arrived, there was left only Akamaru barking at something that apparently used to be there.

"Come on, there's nothing in there" said Kiba picking up his dog and placing him under his jacket. "We must hurry, Hinata might be waiting for us"

* * *

"Seems she hasn't arrived yet" informed Shino when they finally arrived at the trainig grounds. With some delaying from Kiba's attempts to make Akamaru be quiet in his jacket, they thought they were going to be the last in there. 

"OK... doesn't matter... agh!" jerked Kiba when Akamaru got released and started running and jumping from tree to tree trying to smell something in the air.

"Hey! What's wrong with you!" yelled Kiba and started chasing his dog as Shino watched them from afar.

"Kiba-kun, Shino-kun, sorry I'm late" cried Hinata who had recently joined her team. "Ano... what's wrong with Akamaru?" asked her to Shino.

As soon as Akamaru noticed her, he jumped to her head and then started running to the Village followed by Kiba. "Sorry Hinata! I don't know what's wrong with him... I'll promise I'll be back soon" yelled him leaving.

* * *

"Hey Akamaru! Get out of where you are!" called Kiba who had lost his dog a few blocks before. 

"Hey! You're the Inuzuka kid, huh?" asked an angry old lady.

"Y-Yes, mum" answered a shocked Kiba. "Why are you..." started speaking but was cut off by the old lady who pulled him by the ears into her store.

"Look what your stupid dogs have done!" yelled her showing him the inside. There were the remains of what it used to be a very clean grocery store, now all the vegetables were spread on the floor and most of the shelves were broken.

"How would you know if it was my dog?" complaint Kiba having a bad feeling about this.

"Who else would have them?" replied her. "Look! there is one of the little devils!" pointed her to a dog who just had jumped from the roof and started running into the bakery.

"Hey Akamaru!" cried Kiba in an attempt to go after him but was stopped by the old lady... again...

After some minutes cleaning the store Kiba had lost the trace of his dog again. Not that he couldn't smell where he was... In fact, he knew that if he followed it he'd end up cleaning more stores. Maybe he'll do that later but most important now was... what the hell had gone into Akamaru. He needed to find him, and so he headed towards the current place his dog was, luckily the smell was from somewhere familiar.

* * *

"Akamaru!!" 

Kiba could heard Ino's voice yelling at his dog, he just hoped he didn't damage any of the flowers of the Yamanaka's shop or he'd be in serious trouble. He could imagine an angry Ino making him make flower arrangements. Luckily, she wasn't as close as the shop he thought, in fact he just happened to jump into her head and continued his way when Kiba reached Ino.

"Kiba! I'm gonna kill your dog when I'll find him!" yelled her when he arrived.

"I'm sorry Ino, I don't know what's gotten into him today" replied Kiba.

"He went in that direction, if you want to know" added Chouji who happened to be with her along with Kiba's teammate.

"I can tell you where he is now" said Shino as Chouji continued eating his chips.

"I already know where he is but he's moving really fast that I can't go after him without runing into angry shopkeepers" explained Kiba.

"Yeah you'd be thankfull I wasn't at my parents shop or you'll be a dead man by now" added an angry Ino who was trying to fix her pony tail.

"You just have to search in the next places he's going to appear. I'm going to help you. Follow me" said Shino and started walking ahead, leaving Ino and Chouji.

"Ehh... ok. Bye Chouji! Bye Ino, and sorry!" yelled him and rushed behind Shino.

"Agh!! Kiba's so out of the list!!" cried her to Chouji.

* * *

Some minutes later, they arrived at a dark alley where they found a white female dog running straight to them. 

"Shino that's not Akamaru" stated Kiba but was cut off by Shino.

"He's coming" said him and as soon as he did, Akamaru came running behind the other dog. Shino soon caught the white dog and Akamaru suddenly stopped at them and started barking in protest.

"Huh? Who's that, Akamaru?" asked a confused Kiba to his dog. He could swear he saw him flushed, giving a bark for response.

"I've seen that behaviour in my bugs too" explained Shino quietly. "Apparently, Akamaru's fallen for this little" added him pointing at the white dog in his arms who was furiously trying to scape from Shino's hold and from Akamaru.

* * *

**A/N:** hehehe yeah I know I'm not well informed about animals relationships but come on! Akamaru's just different from the rest right? He's special!... and seeems that the female dog didn't like that LOL poor Akamaru... and Kiba's just as dense as Naruto :P Well this one turned out short :( Next one: The Tale of Ino. (and Chouji?) 


	6. Tale of Ino

**Chapter 6: The Tale of Ino... and Chouji**

"Ino! Would you please deliver some arrangements to the Hyuuga residence?" asked that morning Ino's mom. Of course she had no choice but to obey as when she wasn't training with Team 10 she had to help in her family shop, but with only a month before the Chuunin Exams her training was supposed to come first and today that was not happening.

"Sure mom!" answered Ino and looked at the huge amount of flowers she had to deliver now. 'Seems they are having a big party... Agh! Why Asuma sensei had to pick this day to rest!' complaint inner Ino.

"Come to think about it, we don't even have a three man team to take the exams this time. I wonder if Shikamaru has chosen a suitable sustitute" added her when a certain Hyuuga called her attention. "Hey! There's Neji-kun. Maybe I can make him help me with these flowers"

"Neji-kun Ohayo!" called Ino once she was out of the shop.

"Huh? You were one of the rookies from the Chuunin Exams right?" replied Neji in his usual monotone voice.

"How rude, why is that you don't remember my name?" answered her.

"I remember you because I do pay attention to minor details" said Neji not even bothering to look at her and starting to continue his way.

"Ha?" Ino's face dropped. 'What's that supposed to mean?!' added inner Ino.

"I must keep going. I have to meet someone" Neji finally said and dissapeared from Ino's sight.

"Geez he's so cold. I was only trying to ask him something" complaint her.

Giving up, she turned back to the shop but a paper in the floor called her attention. "Huh? What's that on the floor?" wondered her lifting the paper. "Maybe Neji-kun dropped it"

_I've been watching you recently and must admit you're a talented shinobi worth of my time. I'll be looking forward to meet you._

Ino read. 'Oh my god! I have an admirer!' cried inner Ino. 'Of course, who wouldn't admire me' giggled inwardly.

"Ok! This comes first! I have to discover who my secret admirer is!" squealed her and rushed in the opposite direction Neji took, leaving her shop behind.

* * *

"That's odd, I haven't seen this calligraphy before" said as she walked by the streets of Konoha analyzing the letter. "But I know who'd help me!" added her and started running towards a certain teammate's cloudwatching place. 

Empty. Shikamaru was not in his usual place. "Maybe Chouji knows where to find him" and with that, she left to the nearest BBQ restaurant.

"There he is. Chouji!" called Ino once she saw him.

"Ino? What brings you here? We were not having trainig today. Are you here to take my BBQ?!" demanded Chouji.

"Calm down. Calm down. I'm not here for your food" Ino stated. "Geez Chouji, can't a teammate visit you without you thinking its about your food?" added her crossing her arms.

"I don't know, lately Asuma sensei's been saying that we have to eat well in order to function properly" pointed him. "Even Shikamaru's been in trouble with his protein diet"

"Err..." Ino had a nasty look in her face. She didn't want her sensei to put her on a diet, not right now as she was in one already for losing some pounds. "Anyway, Shikamaru finds everything troublesome" she added. "By the way, have you seen him? I've been looking for him through all the Village"

"Oh he's left on a mission" Chouji answered as he started eating again.

"What?!" yelled Ino. 'There it goes, my last chance to find my secret admirer' cried inner Ino.

"Yesterday after training, Tsunade called him to his office. He parted early in the morning" informed Chouji. "Why were you looking for him, anyway?" asked him when he saw his teammate collapsing in the seat in front of him.

"I was hoping he'd help me with something" answered her a bit depressed. "Look what I've received this morning" added her handing her letter to Chouji who started reading it.

"Looks like a challenging note to me" pointed him.

"Of course it's not!" growled her taking her letter from Chouji. "It's from a secret admirer, you see? I was wanting to discover who it was but I don't know anyone as intelligent as Shikamaru that'd help me solve the mistery"

"Well your secret admirer wants to meet you. Maybe you should wait until he gets the courage to do so"

"No way! I need to find him immediately" cried Ino. 'So then I could show him to that forehead girl' added inner Ino evily. "Do you recognize the calligraphy?"

"No but... he could have asked a friend to write it for him, don't ya think? Why don't you start with possible candidates and ask them about the letter?" suggested Chouji. It wasn't a great idea but she had no option.

"Ok Chouji, you'll help" and with that she dragged him out of the restaurant.

* * *

"Can you repeat me why I'm doing this, again?" 

"Come on Chouji! I'll give you an all-you-can-eat ticket I won the other day for BBQ" explained her. "Can't you help a hopeless teammate?" added her receiving a 'hmp' from him.

"Well here's the list of possible candidates" said Ino handing Chouji a paper. "I've included some shinobi of our age group and others that visit the flower shop frequently"

"Hey what about Neji-kun? You told me you were talking to him when you found the letter"

"Nah... he doesn't even remember my name" added her. "Besides he's always been rude to me. Remember that time during the Chuunin Exams?"

"Well then, maybe a friend of him told him to deliver the letter to you"

"A friend of him?" wondered her. She didn't remember him hanging out a lot. Maybe his team were the only friends he had. "Come on Chouji, I don't think he's the type who'd do that kind of favors" added her with a worried look. "His only friends might be his own team"

"You may have a point" answered him in deep thought. "Then it would be Lee..."

"Noo!!" cried Ino not letting Chouji finish his sentence. Rock Lee was too weird for her taste. "Ehm... I mean... he already loves forehead girl right? I mean he likes Sakura" added her after receiving an accusing look from her teammate. She knew he was friends with Lee and didn't want to hurt his feelings.

"Yeah, I remember that time at the Chuunin Exams when he risked his life for protecting her" reasoned Chouji. "I doubt he'd forgotten Sakura-san so easily" added him making Ino feel a bit sad. How was that Sakura had someone who loved her that much to the point of risking his life and she didn't. Even if Lee was ungly, that girl was sure lucky.

"So who do we have in the list?" continued Chouji who had taken his role seriously. An all-you-can-eat ticket was worth it and he had watched Shikamaru in some occasions.

* * *

"Maybe your list wasn't that complete" commented Chouji after hearing his teammate yell in frustration. They had spent all the morning interviewing the shinobis in the list but apparently no one had sent Ino the letter. 

"Look, there it comes Shino" said Chouji.

"Oh yeah, we haven't interviewed Team Eight yet" added her cheerfully.

"Sorry Ino, it wasn't me the one who wrote that letter" apologized Shino when they told him the story. "But we can trace the author from its smell" added him.

"Wow really?!you guys are amazing!"

"The only problem is that..." started Shino pointing to Akamaru that was running straight to Ino.

"Akamaru?" wondered her but was cut off when the mentioned dog jumped to her head and then continued his way leaving her hair all ruined. "Akamaru!!" yelled her with all her fury.

"So that was it?" commented Chouji taking out his chips. Luckily for them Kiba appeared after that.

"Kiba! I'm gonna kill your dog when I'll find him!" yelled Ino.

"I'm sorry Ino, I don't know what's gotten into him today" apologized him.

"He went in that direction, if you want to know" added Chouji.

"I can tell you where he is now" continued Shino.

"I already know where he is but he's moving really fast that I can't go after him without runing into angry shopkeepers"

"Yeah you'd be thankfull I wasn't at my parents shop or you'll be a dead man by now" added an angry Ino who was trying to fix her pony tail.

"You just have to search in the next places he's going to appear. I'm going to help you. Follow me" said Shino and started walking ahead, leaving Ino and Chouji.

"Ehh... ok. Bye Chouji! Bye Ino, and sorry!" yelled him and rushed behind Shino.

"Agh!! Kiba's so out of the list!!" cried her to Chouji.

"Team Eight, no" added Chouji writing something in the list.

* * *

"Ok I give up! Maybe I should wait until he takes the first step" groaned Ino returning to her shop. 

"You're still giving me that ticket right?" asked Chouji. "I'm really hungry, lunch time has passed already"

"All you think about is eating right?" complaint her and searched in her pockets. "Take it, I don't need it anyway"

"Oh look who's coming" added Chouji after placing his ticket in somewhere safe.

"Forehead girl?"

"She looks weird today, doesn't she?"

"Hey Sakura! What's with that face? You look as you've seen a ghost" teased Ino receiving a death stare, literaly, that froze her. "Err... I didn't mean it... really... maybe we can talk about it..."

"No it's ok, I guess" answered Sakura shaking her head. "What about you, Ino-pig?" added her and Ino flinched, she wouldn't let her know about her failed search of her secret admirer.

"Ino and I were looking for..." started Chouji but was cut off when Ino placed a hand in his mouth.

"What he wants to say is that we've been looking for Shikamaru to train new moves but we couldn't find him. Yeah, that's all" explained Ino giggling nervously when a boy came calling Sakura's name.

"Sakura.neechan!" it was Konohamaru's voice.

"Konohamaru! Long time no see. What brings you here?" Sakura welcomed her little friend.

"Well I've come to pick some arrangements for Hinata-neechan's father" explained Konohamaru. "You are Yamanaka, right?" asked him looking at Ino.

"Oh no!" panicked her when she heard Hinata's name. "I totally forgot the Hyuuga's delivery!"

"Yeah. His father asked Hinata-neechan to pick them but she had some problems and I'm here instead"

"What were you doing all day, huh?" teased Sakura.

"Well Ino if you don't mind I'll be leaving now" said Chouji handing Ino her secret admirer letter. "All-you-can-eat BBQ, here I go!"

"Hey what are you doing with that?!" cried Konohamaru when he noticed the letter in Ino's hands.

"That-That's not of your busines" replied a flushed Ino.

"Will it be a love letter?" joked Sakura.

"Of course it's not!" cried Konohamaru a bit upset. "That wasn't supposed to be for you. I wrote that to Neji-chan... Oh then that's why he didn't even want to fight me!" complaint Konohamaru not noticing Ino's face who changed from a shocked one to an angry one. A scary face that'd only compete with Sakura's.

"You telling me... that all this day... I've been looking for the author... of a letter that wasn't for me!!" growled Ino giving him death glares at Konohamaru.

"Hey, calm down, Ino-pig" said Sakura suppressing a laugh.

"Yeah! It was your fault for reading other's people mail" Konohamaru tried to answer back but he didn't seem to be doing it well as at each word of Ino, he had stepped back and was now in front of Sakura. Placing himself at behind her he added. "Isn't it right, Sakura-neechan?"

"Of course Konohamaru-kun. That's what you got for being so curious, Ino-pig" replied Sakura grinning evily. "Now Konohamaru-kun, I'll help you deliver those arrangements. It's not safe to leave you alone with her"

* * *

**A/N:** Hahaha you didn't expect that, did you? Oh my! this turned out to be the longest º-º!! Well it answered a lot of questions, ne? Hope you liked it... and the next one: the tale of Shikamaru... yey! two more to go. 


	7. Tale of Shikamaru

**Chapter 7: The tale of Shikamaru**

'Tsk how troublesome. How long will I be waiting?' complaint Shikamaru while sitting in a tree branch waiting for his mission to appear.

That morning he had left the village for this mision. Tsunade-sama hadn't be that clear as she only told him he was supposed to scort an ambassador from Suna that was in his way to Kumogakure and had to pass through the Fire Country.

'Just in time. I was getting bored' thought him when he felt some bushes move. 'Huh! Don't tell me...'

Shikamaru's eyes widened when he discovered who was the person he had to scort. 'Why of all the sand shinobis had to be her? I knew this mission was going to be troublesome'

'Anyway, I must go and show myself' added as he jumped from the tree.

"You aware of where are you going to enter, right?" said Shikamaru appearing in front of his Sand Shinobi.

"Fire Country, isn't it?" answered Temari.

"You would get in trouble if someone finds you walking all alone" pointed him.

"So that's why they sent you?"

"Even if it's troublesome I had to accept this mission as it didn't seem a difficult one"

"So I'm an easy mission?" asked her teasingly.

"Eh? No... I said..." Shikamaru rushed answering, his cheeks turning a bit red. "If it's you then everything changes" he sighed knowing he had no proper answer earning a mischevous giggle from Temari.

"Then. Shall we?" added her motioning to continue their way.

* * *

Moments later, both of them were in in defence stances, Shikamaru with a kunai and ready to use his _Kagemane no jutsu_ and Temari with her fan wide open. 

"You do a great job, don't you?" teased her.

"This is not the time for making those comments. They must attack in any moment" complaint him.

"But they haven't. What kind of shinobi might be after us? I don't understand"

"Me neither, they don't make any sense at all. First they set all those weird traps and then don't show themselves. I haven't seen that kind of tactic before"

Temari looked at him understanding what he said. A few minutes of having met, they had been falling in the most weird, yet stupid traps. If someone was after them, then they must be still genins of something. Apart from them, who'd set those kind of traps, they made her feel more embarrased than scared.

_Flashback_

_"It must be my brothers fault, asking Konoha to scort me" reasoned Temari to start up a conversation. "They didn't think I should be fine by myself"_

_"I don't think the problem is if you're able to defend yourself or not. I believe your strong enough to do that" answered Shikamaru._

_"Then what's your guess, genius?" asked her earning a bored look from him._

_"My guess, is that being at the time we are, people from other countries walking all alone would seem suspitious. Some people might think you are here for spying on us or stuff. That's why you need someone from this country to scort you and verify you haven't those intentions" explained him calmly. "But I don't think that's your case so maybe I'm here to assure the others you're not a bad person"_

_"Oh, that's nice"_

_"Huh? You haven't believed me at all" said him raising an eyebrow._

_"No it's not like..." started her but stopped as she was cought in his_ Kagemane no jutsu _before she could step in the ground._

_"Hey! Why did you had to do that for?!" cried her._

_"You should be more careful. Look what you were going to step on" replied him pointing a thin string in the ground._

_"Ah. Why would it be something like this here?" answered her a bit embarrased. After all, she had planned not giving him any hint that'd show he was useful._

_"Maybe they are from a previous mission" reasoned Shikamaru letting her go. "You shoudn't get down your guard even if you're with me"_

_"Hey! It didn't have anything to do with you!" cried her all flushed._

_"Yeah I know but..." he coudn't finished his sentence as in a bad step, they were cought in a net._

_"Good one, genius" complaint Temari who was caught in the same trap as him, getting them in some uncomfortable positions. "Now who is the one getting down his guard?"_

_"It was a bad step I took after I let go the jutsu. You were the one that had to be more careful in the first place"_

_"So this is my fault?" _

_"Tsk. Troublesome woman"_

_"Hey you, shut up and cut up these ropes. You think I like being on top of you?" cried her all flushed._

_"You don't seem to hate it either. Anyway, I can't reach my kunai bag without passing through your... ehem... you" explained him a bit flushed as well._

_"Oh don't you dare touch me"_

_"I'm the one to say that. Are you aware of where is your leg?" complaint him making Temari turn even redder._

_"Yeah it is by your... kunai bag! Hey don't move, I'm going to reach it and cut the ropes by myself" And with that... they were back in the ground moments later._

_End of Flashback_

"Oi! you listening?" yelled Shikamaru.

"Eh sorry. You were saying?"

"I said it's ok to move on. The faster we travel the better"

"Ok"

'Geez she's kinda spacing out a lot lately. Wonder what's in her mind. If she continues like this, this is going to be even troublesome'

_Flashback_

_"And that one was already there?" asked Temari once they were on their feet again. "You guys know nothing about ambushing" added her walking again._

_"Even if I reckon that one was totally useless we don't have to underestimate the ones who put them. I think there's something weird about this"_

_"We didn't have to fall in that trap in the first place!" scolded her._

_"I told you it wasn't my fault. You have to be grateful it wasn't something else"_

_"Well I'd have prefered some S-rank shinobi than being up there with you" _

_"I knew this was going to be troublesome" muttered Shikamaru walking ahead of her._

_"What are you doing?" asked her once she noticed he wasn't traveling by her side anymore._

_"I'm just cheking the territory"_

_Temari didn't say anything this time and Shikamaru took his time to look at the nearby trees, some of them looked suspicious as if they'd been supporting a great weight._

_"Something doesn't look normal" said him finally. "Those look recent"_

_"What are you talking about?" asked her._

_"Temari! Don't come near!" shouted him but was too late. A giant trunk was falling towards them._

_Shikamaru managed to pull Temari to his side and both of them dodged the trunk._

_"We're not alone" he said as he took out his kunai and Temari her fan._

_End of Flashback_

"What do you think of that?" asked Temari pointing at some untidy ground. "That ground seemed to be removed. Are they planning us to fall for that trick?"

"No I don't think them to be that stupid... but judging from the previous traps... I don't know what to think anymore"

"You want my guess? I think they are still genins that doesn't know who they are messing up with" replied her angrily. "Let's move on using the trees" added her followed by a suspicious Shikamaru.

"I don't know if this is safe. They might have anticipated our moves" said him landing besides her.

"No, no one is as smart as you" added her with a grin but as soon as she said that the branch broke letting them fall straight into the trap.

"I think they did it" finished Shikamaru once they were, again, in another uncomfortable trap.

"Ahh!! Stupid genins!! If I get to know who are them, believe me I'm going to make them suffer!!" cried her down in the hole.

"Yeah I'm sure they heard you" mocked Shikamaru.

"Now what's your big plan?"

"First of all you have to get off of me. This time we have plenty of space for you to be on top of me" added him calmly.

"Eh?" Temari's face flushed again and stood up in less than a second, followed by Shikamaru who did it slowly.

"Yeah I think that's better" added him. "Can you jump out of here?" asked him.

"Yeah sure, it's not that deep" answered her and a few minutes later they were out of the hole safely.

"This isn't ending here, right?" complaint Temari. "At this rate I'm going to be late for Komogakure"

"I might have to report this to Tsunade-sama. They must send some teams to research the area. For now let's just hurry up the pace, we're not that far from the Fire Country limits"

* * *

"Here we are. I guess you can say the mission was successful as I brought you safely" said Shikamaru once they were out of the Fire Country territory. 

"Well at least it wasn't that bored as I expected" added her with a grin. "Thank you"

"Huh? what for? It was only a mission" replied him, his cheeks a bit red for her sudden outburst.

"Yeah you say that. I'm sure you enjoyed it" added her giggling.

"Tsk. What would you know? I find all of my missions..."

"Troublesome?" finished her. "That's why you won't move forward as the rest"

"Excuse me? Who's the Chuunin now?"

"I'm just saying. I'll bet that the next time I see you I will be a jounin" added her proudly after having to turn away to hide her embarrasment.

"That sounds an interesting bet but" he said not letting her smirk. "I'm not into gambling" And with that he turned back and started his way home, not even turning around to meet her gaze. Temari, who had turned to see him, sighed and continued her way.

* * *

**A/N:** Ok, I'm not sure how this turned out. ShikaTema is one of my favourite couples cuz is sooo canon xD Well, even if I kinda disliked how I rushed their trip (hey they were traveling by the frontier so that's why it was short) I found funny all those silly traps... why were they there? figure it out in the next and last chapter. The tale of Ten Ten. (why it's related to this you might be asking. Just reread the first tale to see where she was xD) 


	8. Tale of Ten Ten

**A/N: **Ok here it is.. the last tale. I know I'm updating this quickly but I had this done at the same time as the previous one and I think the prev one needed further explanation. Now enjoy!!

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 8: The tale of Ten Ten**

"Yosh! Another successful mission to add to Team Gai records!" cried Gai as he walked back to Konoha with Ten Ten.

"But sensei, we don't even have Lee or Neji to be considered this a team mission" pointed her.

"Oh but we have our team spirit! They are supporting us wherever they are!" cried Gai in his nice guy pose earning a sweatdrop from Ten Ten.

"Hai. Hai. Just return as fast as we can" added her rushing her pace. It was weird enough to have spent a mission alone with him for her to endure the come back.

Unluckily for her, her problems were just starting.

"Shhh. Ten Ten, look who's there" she heard her sensei, indicating to stop.

"Oh It's Shikamaru-kun, from Asuma sensei team" pointed her.

"Hmm. I remember him. He was the only one who passed the Chuunin Exams last year" added Gai and Ten Ten nodded. "But what is he doing there hiding in that tree?"

"You think he's in a mission?" wondered her looking at her sensei.

"It's most likely... wait! Someone else's coming" cried Gai pointing now at Temari. "She's the one who beat you at those same Chuunin Exams"

"Yeah. I remember her too. She fought Shikamaru-kun at the third round. I've heard they got quite close since that time when her team was sent to help Konoha"

"Oh I see. How youthful for them to be having a date in a place like this!"

"Wait... What?! You can't assume things that carelessly!" cried Ten Ten nervously.

"Oh, don't be so oblivious my cute pupil. It's obvious they are meeting here for a date!" pointed Gai happily. "Makes me wonder why are they doing it on the sly" added him rubbing his chin. "Could it be that their parents are against their relationship? Oh how unyouthful for them!"

"Hey stop making up wrong deductions!" Ten Ten cried trying to stop her sensei from doing some stupid thing. "Look, they don't seem to be dating or so, they are just walking!"

"Oh, shyness! How cute!"

"Hey no! That's not what I meant!"

"Yosh! Let's help them with their problem!"

"Wait no!"

"Come on Ten Ten, we have some arrangements to do"

"Oh geez!" sighed her in defeat.

* * *

"You finished with yours?" asked Gai to Ten Ten who was setting some traps in the floor. 

"Hai! But why are we doing this?"

"You'll see that in time! Now come here, they are getting closer" said and both of them left the road.

Moments later, Shikamaru was using his _Kagemane no jutsu_ on Temari for avoiding her steping into Ten Ten's trap.

"You see? I told you that wasn't going to work" pointed Ten Ten. "What's the point in setting all those traps?"

"Ok Here it comes the best part!" cried him with excitement. "You see Ten Ten, those traps I made you set up wasn't the real ones"

"Huh?"

"I've mastered a better plan. When Shikamaru releases her cute girlfriend from the jutsu, he's going to step into _my_ trap"

"You thought all that?" asked her sceptically.

"Look intently" advised him.

And just as Gai predicted, Shikamaru stepped in his trap making him and Temari hang up in a net.

"Just look at them Ten Ten, if that doesn't break the tension then..."

"Well it's not the tension what they've broken" added her making Gai look at her confused. "Look, they've scaped"

"Hm I should have used stronger ropes"

"Can we leave now?" requested Ten Ten, not like she was going to convice her sensei but she didn't lose anything for trying.

"Not just yet! I'm not going anywhere until those two lovebirds learn how to express their youthful love!"

"Wait, Gai sensei!" cried Ten Ten all flushed. "Stop yelling those things. Someone could hear you"

"Huh? Why are you all red all of a suden?" asked Gai surprised. "Could it be... that you..."

"Eh... I-It's nothing" replied her with a sweatdrop. "Hey look, they are moving again." added her changing the topic.

"Oh ok. We'll talk about your love life later. It'd be so unyouthful for you not to have a correspondend love"

"I don't have an uncorresponded love!"

* * *

"They are separating, sensei" informed Ten Ten who was told to watch the path while Gai was setting his trap. 

"Hm Then I have to use a bigger one"

"Wha... what?! Don't you think you are overdoing it?" asked a nervous Ten Ten when she saw the magnitude of his newest trap. "You don't plan to kill them, do you?"

"Of course not, my cute Ten Ten. When I release this trap, Shikamaru-kun would not have another choice but to jump and protect his girlfriend. He'll then hold her in an all lovey dovey hug!" explained him. "I'm a genius, right?" added him in his nice guy pose.

"Lovey... Dovey..." repeated her dumbly. "Do you even know the meaning of that word?"

"Don't try to correct your sensei, Ten Ten. And come and hide with me"

3... 2... 1... Gai sensei released the rope he was pulling and the big trunk began falling straight into Shikmaru and Temari. Ten Ten watched nervously.

"Great now they think they are under attack" sighed her.

"Hum... I don't get it. It was supposed to be romantic and something that would join them" pouted Gai.

"Well, what you say doesn't make sense at all. What would you think if you're in a mission and then you see that trunk falling straight to you? Of course they'd think there must be some enemy setting traps for them!" reasoned her.

"Oh you must be right. That's why I love having you in my team, Ten Ten!" cried him patting her in the head.

"Hey stop that!" complaint her. "Look there's nothing we can do to join them. Can we just leave them alone, please?"

"That's it! Some alone time would do it! Come on Ten Ten!" commanded him and she could do nothing but follow.

* * *

"I won't be helping you this time either?" asked Ten Ten who watched her sensei dig a big hole in the ground and then cover it... well, not so well. 

"Even a normal person could tell that's a trap" pointed her sceptically.

"Oh that's what I'm planning. With that genius in command it would be usless to try and hide it better"

"Then what's your plan now?"

"Oh just look at that ground" said him. "If you were in their place what'd you do?"

"Well I'll first throw something at that to test the ground and then travel by the trees"

"Correct! That's exactly what they'd do but then... bang! They're gonna fall anyways as I'm cutting the branches too"

"Oh I'm surprised you thought that" added her sarcastically.

"Of course! Your sensei thinks about everything! And I must assure I pass on my habilities to my cute pupils as well"

"I-I appreciate it a lot but... I don't think I agree with your methods" said her with a sweatdrop.

"Oh don't be ashamed Ten Ten. I'd also help you with your love problems"

"L-Love problems?" asked her a bit shocked. So far she knew, she had not that sort of problems.

"Don't think I don't know how you've been looking to a certain teammate lately"

"Wha-What? I don't know what you're saying" replied her all flushed. Now she remembered, but she didn't considered _that_ to be a problem. Was her sensei that much as an observer?

"Don't worry Ten Ten, he might seem that oblivious but I'm sure he's a good kid. I'm sure he'll notice you sooner or later. Well now they are coming, let's hide"

"Just don't do anything like this, sensei" added her hiding her face and sweating nervously.

Moments later Gai sensei was screaming. "It worked!!"

"I'm amazed at how you predicted what they were going to do" commented Ten Ten earning a proud nice guy pose from her sensei. "Too bad you didn't dig deep enough" added her leaving her sensei dumbfounded.

"That wasn't supposed to be like that!" cried Gai with teary eyes. "What was wrong Ten Ten? Didn't those kids like to be near each other?"

"Look Gai sensei, I don't think they were on date in the first place" explained her but looking at her sensei's face made her change what she was saying. "Well if they were, I don't think being in constant attack would make them enjoy themselves"

"You think so? When I was young I loved protecting those who I loved" explained him.

"Well yeah... but that doesn't work with everyone. Now if you really want those two to get closer then let's leave them alone. I'm sure things will get better if they aren't falling into traps"

"Oh you may be right, Ten Ten. Asuma sensei's students have no youthful spirit!"

"Eh?!"

"I must have some words with him" added him with a hand under his chin.

"L-Let's leave it like it is, sensei. Look, we've moved away from our road. At this rate we're gonna arrive home later than expected" suggested her.

"Yosh! Then let's make the way home in half the time!" cried him.

"Hey wait, that's impossible!"

"If we're not able to do that then we're running 200 laps around Konoha, yosh!" yelled him starting his way back leaving an angry Ten Ten.

'Geez. It wasn't my fault to be that late. He was the one who slowed us in the first place' complaint her. "Hey that's not fair, sensei! I'm not Lee!"

* * *

**A/N:** hehe you didn't expected _them_ to be behind all that, right :P I'm not quite sure if this would be called the tale of Ten Ten or the tale of Gai sensei LOL. Just some cute moments between sensei and pupil... and only if you're not familiar with me... I must clear this: the teammate Gai sensei was talking about was NOT Neji (cough Neji is mine, k?) 

Thank you for reading!!


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